Cruel Silence
by Braxenimos
Summary: Why do guys always have to be so afraid to simply approach a girl? Jade ponders the reasons for this completely oblivious to the person who actually does want to ask her out. But it might not be a guy.


**Enjoy.**

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Her elbows reached further than the point of annoying pain and entered the more acceptable realm of numbness. Both hands were found creating warmth on each of her cheeks as her mind ventured elsewhere. Her attention remained on the same boy that it had been for the past ten minutes and she let out a sigh.

The boy was obviously not an adult but equally less boyish in his looks causing Jade West to find a conclusion that placed him around her age. She was most noticeably the eye of his affection as he made his way through the GameStop that she was employed looking at the various retail while trying to hide his occasional glances in her direction. Jade could only assume that his hesitation at approaching her was due to the reputation she had built up for herself over time. Bottom line? He was scared.

It was all too familiar territory for her to be feared, in fact she usually liked it that way, but the avoidance that the opposite sex gave her was starting to grow tiresome. Jade never quite realized just how much she liked the attention until she found herself single only a couple of months ago. These thoughts only served to let slip another sigh as she finally diverted her attention elsewhere and lifted up to greet her newest customer.

She tried not to think about it but who can honestly say that when they try not to think about something they actually succeed? Jade silently hoped that one of these customers would just man up and ask her out. She might even say yes. "Might" being a bit of a stretch. She knew this probably wasn't the best place to hold any sort of hope for being approached in a romantic sort of way but that didn't stop her from hoping. Just because she was an attractive girl didn't mean they should be shy about making a move. They all seemed so scared, probably assuming that she got asked out all of the time and had grown used to saying no until someone who truly caught her eye would come through.

And then something caught her eye. Jade had caught but a glimpse of an all too familiar pair of legs that sprouted from denim cutoffs. It was all that her vision managed to capture before the boy that had previously held her attention appeared at the counter.

Nothing was even conversed between them as his hand extended forward presenting the thing he wished to purchase. She smiled and took the item before ringing it up and stating its price. His thoughts were quite obvious as the question he longed to propose lingered on his tongue. She waited for him to present the money just as she waited for him to him grow a pair. He never did and quickly paid before heading, just as quickly, out of the building.

Jade slowly tracked his movement out of the door before sighing and shaking her head in disappointment. A high pitched "Hey!" was heard slightly to her left causing a quick jump to rock through her body, though she tried her hardest not too, and she turned to the side to find the culprit. She found Tori Vega smiling largely and leaning towards her on the counter. She knew she recognized those long slender legs from somewhere. And here she was at her place of work shoving that damned infectious smile into her face apparently attempting to ruin Jades gloom with that of perky joy.

Jade flashed a bored expression in her direction before fidgeting with something on the counter that Tori probably didn't care much about to investigate. "Vega." She stated simply.

Tori scoffed and rolled her eyes before replying. "Oh, come on. Aren't we past the whole 'Vega' thing now that you professed your undying friendship to me?"

Jade put down her distraction of an item and dropped her expression into an annoyed one. "First of all… No. And second of all I did not profess my undying anything, Vega." A gulp would have been seen on the pale girl had anyone been looking for it and the thought that she had gulped because of Tori, and the possibility of her seeing it, caused her to gulp again. That one Tori had noticed.

Tori's mouth opened in a smile as she bit the side of her tongue. "Let's see here. You drive to my house at midnight, sweating, and damn near hyperventilating, all so that you can tell me you consider us friends. Doesn't that sound like a bad romantic movie to you? I mean sure usually the friend part would be love or something but-"

"Tori!" Jade quickly interrupted her friends rambling before she could make her blush.

"Oh, so _noooow_ it's Tori? Maybe there is something else you want to profess to me?"

"Ok, I get it! But you know I didn't mean anything like that by it that night. So stop saying it as if I like 'like' you or something."

The way Tori's smile dimmed and the sparkle in her eye grew shadowed was obvious to anyone who knew Tori. She let out a small sort of laugh to break the silence before reaching in to her bag of excuses and pulling out the easiest to retort with. "Yeah, I'm just messin' with you." She retreated her head into her shoulders as best as she could and nervously placed her hands within her pockets all the while trying not look Jade in the eye. "So, has anyone asked you out yet?"

Jade's head whipped back and a few customers heads turned at the sound of her loud groan. She knew she would regret having told Tori about her newest distresses. Her head slammed forwards again as she managed to respond through a sigh. "No, not yet anyway."

Jade immediately noticed the look in her recently acknowledged friend. Tori's head looked every which way as she searched for a target, eventually settling on a particularly average looking guy. A quick "be right back!" registered in Jade's ears before she even noticed Tori's mouth move. She was gone in the same instant, quickly making her way in the guy's direction, and practically skipping all the way.

Jade would have loved nothing more than to chase after and forcibly subdue her friend in that moment but knew that she couldn't. She kind of liked keeping her job, after all. She looked in the opposite direction completely embarrassed at the thought of what Tori could be saying to the boy. Probably trying desperately to convince him that asking out Jade was actually something that would be worth doing. She risked a quick look at the two and found Tori's expression lighting up in happier than usual expression as her arms wrapped around in a hug.

"Thank, you. Thank, you!" Tori's hand grabbed Average boy's wrist and dragged him to the counter. She was quickly on the receiving end of his mildly angered expression while his previously free and occupied itself rubbing the wrist that Tori had so aggressively tugged on before. Tori cleared her throat and nudged her noggin in jades direction.

Jade wasn't really all that attracted to this guy but was beginning ot find herself esxcited at the prospect of someone finally asking her out. Her excitement almost covered her embarrassment as she shot Tori her own angry expression and questioning look.

After many seconds that seemed more like minutes the two girls new friend finally spoke. "So. Jade, is it? Umm, I was kind of uh… wondering if you would-," he glanced back towards Tori before returning his attention back to Jade and sighed. "Will you just go out with this girl so she will leave me alone already? Please? She is way too perky…"

Jades response had already been loaded and ready to fire causing it come speeding out of the barrel as soon as the boy was done talking. "Oh, thanks but I- Wait, what did you just say?" The question was said to the stranger but her attention was now squarely on Tori.

"Yeah, so I asked her. I'm going now." He left without buying a single thing eager to escape this predicament.

Tori's head was pointed down but her eyes were pointed forward towards Jade. She smiled and bit her lip nervously as she rocked backwards in wait.

Jade's loss of words was quickly becoming apparent to Tori who started to panick on the inside a little. Eventually her mind put itself back together and remembered what it was like to form words again. "Tori, I…" She found herself afraid to look at Tori, scared of the hurtful look she knew she would find there.

The younger Vega's smile faded as her hopes were grinding further and further into dust with each passing second. "Umm, It's okay. Jade, I'll uh… I'll see you tomorrow."

And then she was gone and Jades breath finally found its way back into her lungs. She knew it was too late but a word still formed on her lips. She said it to no one yet still meaning it wholeheartedly. "Yes"

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**Notes of worth: **_This was largely inspired by an interesting conversation I had with an attractive clerk at a GameStop a little while back._


End file.
